


Family Ties

by galpalaven



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Angsty maybe, Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Everybody Lives, F/F, F/M, Family Shenanigans, Meet the Family, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Post-Destroy Ending, Shepard Cousins, Shepard Survives, Thane Lives, a skosh, a smidge, a touch, because Shepards can't communicate with each other apparently, except uh, goes HORRIBLY WRONG
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-05 22:55:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12199041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galpalaven/pseuds/galpalaven
Summary: A weekend visit to Mom's post-Reapers turns into a spectacle when both Mom and Shepard decide to officially introduce each other to their love interests. Without warning.Whoops.(akaMama Shepard and her daughter learn the value of Communication.)





	1. Surprise!

“Albu—Albu _quirk_ —Al—“

“Albuquerque.”

“Why is your language like this?” Tali huffed, tilting her head at the ticket display on her omni-tool. 

Kira laughed, shaking her head as she readjusted her bag on her shoulder, taking in the colorful, lighted fountain on the wall of the terminal as they walked. The spaceport in New Mexico wasn’t her favorite place in the galaxy, that was for sure, but it was new and the architecture was a lot prettier than the one in London. “Not my language,” Kira said idly, turning to grin at her girlfriend. “My father’s language has cities like _Gwangmyeong_.”

“How many languages do humans _have_?”

Kira snorted, shrugging. “Several hundred at the least.”

“ _Keelah_.”

Baggage claim was still down another hallway, and Kira wondered distantly how angry her mother would be if she napped the whole way back to her place after springing the surprise of bringing her girlfriend home for the first time on her. They’d been on two different spaceflights—12 hours to the Citadel and another 6 to Earth (nothing was quite as fast as the Normandy, unfortunately)—and Kira was feeling it in her hips big time. Above them, a brightly lit ad flashed and an Alliance Navy commercial played, making her wince when her own face flashed across the display briefly, followed shortly by her cousin’s. Her heart hurt a little more as Anderson’s voice came over the speakers, talking about the benefits of the Alliance and joining up. 

It’d be two years in a few months, and hearing his voice still hurt.

Sighing, mentally shaking the sick feeling in her gut away, Kira reached for Tali’s hand, squeezing affectionately as she asked, “You guys don’t have more than one language?”

“Not really. Not since we got driven from the homeworld, anyway. We have about five, but only three or so of them are ever really spoken.”

Kira quirked an eyebrow as they stepped onto the final escalator to baggage claim, leaning on the rail as she asked, “Is that why different quarians have different accents? Are they speaking different languages?”

Tali shrugged, fiddling with her gloves. It’d been a while since she’d worn her suit at all, as much time as they’d been spending on Rannoch, and she was trying to get used to it again. “Probably. Do I have an accent to you?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

“Do I _not_?”

Tali shook her head, and Kira couldn’t see, but she could tell she was smiling. “Not really.”

“Huh,” was all Kira managed before the escalator was ending and they were off again, trying to find their flight on the signs above the baggage carousels. Kira’s aching back throbbed, and just thinking about the hour ride to the outskirts of Albuquerque, where her mother’s new house apparently was (why she’d picked _New Mexico_ of all places to buy real estate was beyond her—about as beyond her as the fact that there was usually traffic so bad that the ride was going to _take_ an hour), had one of her eyes twitching from exhaustion. To make matters worse, the baggage carousel for their flight from the Citadel was stationed right next to a gigantic fucking poster of her _face—_ and it was too hot to use a scarf or something.

Tali slipped her hand into hers as they got closer, squeezing gently. At least Kira’s hair was _up_ in that poster—hopefully she’d be less recognizable with her hair dow—

“Shepard? _Kira Shepard?_ ”

Fuck. Shit. Fuck. Goddammit.

Maybe if she ignored them, they’d go away. She pulled her girlfriend closer, eyes steadily on the baggage claim carousel, as someone approached, bending to try and catch her eye. 

“That _is_ you!” they exclaimed, and Kira cursed the scar on her face, wondering why she hadn’t taken Miranda’s offer to fix it. “I’m such a huge fan, do you think I could get a picture?”

Sighing, and plastering a smile on her face, Kira looked up at the man—older and in need of a shower, the same type of guy who used to follow her around dirty old space stations and call her _baby_ —and nodded. “Sure, I guess, but I gotta get out of here pretty soon.”

“Of course, of course.”

Kira didn’t like getting close to people she didn’t know— _especially_ men—and his hand drifted a little too low as he snapped the selfie, making her tense up. She was expecting something else (maybe a request for a phone number) when he got pushed away rather suddenly, and Kira felt Tali’s hands wrap around her arm. 

“Thank you for being a fan, but my _girlfriend_ and I have somewhere to be.”

His face visibly fell, but he nodded anyway. “Right. Thanks for your time, Commander.”

“ _Yeah_ ,” Kira said, voice hollow and slightly rough, wishing nothing more for a second than to be able to lean in and kiss her girlfriend for that little rescue there. Tali’s eyes crinkled behind her mask, and Kira got the feeling she knew exactly where her thoughts were. Maybe tonight they’d get enough peace and quiet to relax and—

“Kira!!”

Her breath left her in a quiet _whoosh_ at the familiar voice, turning as Tali pulled away to stand closer to the conveyor belt and Hannah Shepard came trotting up, arms open as she laughed and pulled Kira into a hug. Kira hugged her mother back, burying her face in her shoulder and inhaling the familiar scent of her favorite perfume, and for a second Kira was twelve again, greeting her mother after an extended stay on some far away space station.

“Ooh, I missed you, sweetheart!” her mother cooed, pulling away again with her hands on Kira’s shoulders. Distractedly, she lifted a hand and touched Kira’s scar lightly, eyes glossing over briefly, before she caught sight of something just to the side of Kira, and her face fell a little. “You brought your— _girlfriend_ , I see.”

_There_ it was.

“Is that okay?” Kira asked hesitantly, stepping back over to take a bag from Tali. “I thought it was about time we all got to know each other—it’s been two years, after all.”

Hannah looked distinctly uncomfortable, and Kira’s stomach sank as her mother wrung her hands in front of her. After a split second, she plastered her smile back on a little better, reaching for one of their bags and using her free hand to shake Tali’s. “Of course! You’re right. We’re definitely overdue for the official meet-and-greet part, aren’t we?” She gave Tali’s hand a firm shake, smiling in an uncomfortable way that had both Kira and her girlfriend shifting uncomfortably on their feet. “Call me Hannah.”

“Hannah,” Tali repeated, voice much more under control than Kira’s would have been in the same situation.  And she _had_ been in the same situation, but she’d also spent a lot of time with Admiral Raan on the Normandy while they were saving Rannoch (and, let’s be real, saving your girlfriend’s species’ homeworld scores you _major_ points with the future in-laws, however small a part you actually had in it).  “It’s a pleasure to officially meet you.”

A pregnant pause settled over all of them for a full five seconds (Kira counted) until Hannah took a deep breath and said brightly, “Well! We’re wasting daylight just standing around here, aren’t we? Come on—I didn’t park far.”

Hannah took the lead, and Kira and Tali hung back a little bit, holding hands again to disguise the way Tali leaned into Kira’s side and mumbled miserably, “Oh, she _hates_ me.”

Kira squeezed her girlfriend’s hand as they stepped out of a set of sliding doors and out into the evening sun. “Relax. She’ll be fine by the end of the weekend.”

“You think?”

“Well…I hope, anyway.”

All Tali had to say to that was a quiet groan.

 

* * *

 

Kira was ready to put her head through the fucking window.

It hadn’t been so bad when they first piled into the skycar. Tali and Hannah exchanged pleasantries about the weather and the landscape, and it was almost nice. There were a few mentions of Sun and Garrus (just to lighten the tension—the _Vakarian-Shepards_ were usually a fairly safe topic since the wedding and with the rumors of an upcoming adoption), but that could only last so long. Eventually, Tali started to tell Hannah a little about Rannoch, and how glad she was to see that Earth wasn’t so different (at least, this part of Earth), and that was fine.

But then she mentioned the work on the house. _Their_ house, to be exact. Their house that they’d be living in _together_.

“I’m an Admiral like you,” Tali was saying lightly, obviously trying very hard to relate, “so I got priority over picking a plot of land for the house. It’s only been a month so we’ve got a while to wait, and the prefab they gave us isn’t bad, but I can’t wait to live in a _real_ _house_. Neither of us have ever really had one, right, Kira?”

“Yeah,” Kira replied dryly, settling a little further into the seat. “It’ll be nice. No more running out of hot water in the mornings.”

“You’re living together, then?” Hannah asked, and Kira ground her teeth at the underlying concern in her voice.

“When I’m not on the Citadel,” Kira said with a shrug, steadily meeting her mother’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Is that a problem?”

Her mom blinked a few times. “No! Oh, no, I was just—I didn’t know. That’s all.”

In the corner of her eye, Kira saw Tali reach for her arm, only to pause at the last second and drop it back to her lap, chafing her hands up and down her thighs with a heavy sigh. Kira’s ears burned at the sight, stomach turning at the thought that it was the year 2189 and still— _still_ —girls were afraid to hold their girlfriend’s hands in front of their parents. How pathetic was that? Humanity was out exploring the stars and yet people still couldn’t be in same-sex relationships without someone making a fuss (and _may the stars have mercy on your soul_ if it was a similar-gender _and_ interspecies relationship).

_Fuck that_ , Kira thought as she crossed the distance between them herself, shifting from leaning on the door to leaning against Tali’s side, tilting her chin and grinning when her girlfriend looked down at her curiously. 

“Hey.”

Tali giggled, and she sounded a little closer to normal than she had a moment ago. 

_Good_. 

“Hey.”

“We almost there, Mama?” Kira asked, turning her gaze back forward as she got comfortable laying on her girl. Maybe pulling out the _Mama_ card would buy her back a few points. “Because if not, I’m going to take a nap—if that’s okay.”

“We’re about ten minutes out,” Hannah said, but her voice was the wrong pitch—too high and squeaky for _Rear Admiral Hannah Shepard_. Kira narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the back of her mom’s head. 

Something was _up_.

“You okay?” Kira asked lightly, watching her mother wince in the reflection.

“Fine, dear. Been up all day cleaning up. That’s all.”

_“…Uh-huh.”_

Hannah didn’t actually answer, just bit at her lower lip and returned her gaze forward as the car started following a trail upwards. It appeared that wherever her house was, it was positioned up on the mesa-like formations on the edge of town. Kira leaned a little farther over onto her girlfriend to watch the buildings and lights out of the window. Tali did the same, her mask making a quiet little _click_ against the window as she rested her head against it.

“I got lucky,” Hannah said as they got closer. “Being a war hero definitely has its perks, as annoying as it is to be recognized everywhere. The house on the end there is our—mine.” Kira frowned a little at the hiccup in phrasing, but then she realized which house she was talking about.

“…The one with the veranda overlooking the city?” 

“That’s the one.”

“ _God_. How much is rent?”

“It’s fully paid off. It was a gift. Sort of. I think.” Kira glanced back towards the front seat in time to see her mom shrug. “I haven’t received anything about rent yet, anyway, so I’m just assuming I’m good there.”

Kira shook her head, settling back against the seats. “Man, all I got from _my_ service was a measly one-rank promotion and another medal. They don’t even let me stay on the Citadel for free, and I did as much to save the damn galaxy as you guys did.”

Tali chuckled. “You could just ask me if you’re running low on—“

“I’m not _broke_. I’m just _offended_.”

The two women looked at each other for a beat, before bursting into giggles as the skycap slowed to a stop in the garage attached to the house. The car jolted a little as it settled on the ground, and then the doors were sliding up and they were all climbing out, Kira wandering around to the trunk to get the bags. 

“Want some help?” Tali asked, not really asking as she went ahead and reached in for one of the smaller bags.

“Not even gonna help your guests, Ma—?” Kira asked idly, glancing up towards the door into the house, only to nearly drop the suitcase she’d been pulling out of the trunk on her foot.

There was a pause of a solid ten seconds, during which Kira stared at the familiar green face of the man standing at the door, and he stared back, trying to smile and failing miserably. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her girlfriend tilt her head curiously, confused, but that was the second it clicked in Kira’s head what exactly was happening, and she couldn’t quite stop the words that tumbled out of her mouth next.

“Oh my _fucking god_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey im not dead but i am Struggling i hope you enjoyed. 
> 
> chapter 2 should be coming _relatively_ soon. i'm on some new medication that's upped my energy and ability to focus so  
>  ☞( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)☞ heres hoping


	2. Prelude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously: "Oh my _fucking god_."

Kira let the bag she was holding drop heavily to the concrete at her feet as her mother stepped up and, hesitantly, wrapped an arm around the drell’s back. She patted his stomach and, smiling a smile that was more of a grimace, shrugged and said, “Surprise?”

Kira blinked. 

And blinked again, waiting for her vision to shift. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. _Thane Krios_ wasn’t really…

“Is _this_ why you’ve been so weird since we got here? Why you’ve been so weird about Tali?” Kira gasped, flailing a hand in her girlfriend’s direction and noting worriedly that Tali hadn’t really moved. Behind her mother and Thane came another familiar face, and Kolyat rolled his eyes when her jaw dropped at him, sliding past the couple on the stairs to come help with the bags.

Kolyat patted Tali awkwardly on the shoulder as he passed, reaching for one of the bigger bags with a quiet huff. 

Kira’s fingers were numb.

“Kira, sweetheart, this is why I wish you’d called and told me—.”

Kira laughed, a little too loudly, covering her mouth quickly to muffle whatever the hell was happening with her voice as she shook her head. “We are _shit_ at communicating,” she breathed, dropping her hand back to her side. “I thought it was just Sun, but it’s apparently just a Shepard thing.”

Hannah smiled a little, and the tension in the room eased a little. “Even though I’m not technically a Shepard?”

With Kolyat lugging the two biggest bags back towards the doorway, Kira slung a backpack over her shoulder and sighed heavily, resting a hand on her girlfriend’s lower back as they moved to go inside. “You know what they say—if it quacks like a duck…”

Hannah tossed her head back and laughed, the tension dissipating another few notches as they all stepped up into what was apparently the kitchen. Kolyat had disappeared by the time Kira closed the garage door behind her, and for a moment she forgot about the shock of Thane’s appearance as she took in the pristine (yet somehow cozy?) openness of the house. 

There was a bar separating the kitchen and the living room, stone giving way to hardwood paneling as you moved past it. The farthest wall was made almost entirely of glass, save for the stone fireplace set into the middle of it, around which were several cushy looking sofas and a coffee table. There were doors set in the glass that opened out onto the veranda, and below the deck she could see the twinkling lights of the city. The walls were a comfortable, creamy color, the light coming from the fixtures above them was warm. One wall was covered in more stonework, with shelves covered in books and—were those her science fair trophies from middle school? The wall opposite was painted burgundy and covered in expensive-looking artwork that Kira didn’t recognize.

Kira slouched a little as she shuffled forward. “ _Wow_.”

“It’s beautiful,” echoed Tali, and Hannah stepped in front of them, grinning.

“ _Isn’t it_? I was so excited to show you, now that we’ve finally got everything where it’s supposed to be!”

Kira smiled a little, stepping up and running her fingers along the cool marble on top of the bar. “Expensive.”

Her mother hummed tunelessly at that and turned to Thane, who was still hovering a little awkwardly by the door. “Thane, why don’t you take the rest of their bags to the guest room so I can give them the full tour, hmm?”

“Yes, that’s—I’ll do that.”

“Thank you, dear.”

Thane shuffled away just as awkwardly as he’d been standing after Kira and Tali handed him their bags. As he disappeared down the hall, Kira raised an eyebrow and turned back to her mother, who was very pointedly not looking at her.

“How long has _that_ been going on?” Kira asked, sticking her foot out to prod gently at her mother’s calf.

To Kira’s complete and total shock, Hannah Shepard actually blushed.

She shrugged, scratching self-consciously at one of her newly-reddened cheeks. “A few months? I don’t know. It was—It was kind of—,” she cut herself off with a huff, straightening her back a little and arranging her features in that carefully blank, military mask Kira knew so well. “We’ll talk about it later, how’s that? I was hoping to spend some time alone with you this weekend anyway.”

Kira glanced at her girlfriend, who simply shrugged back. 

“Yeah,” Kira agreed slowly, “okay. Sure.”

Hannah looked almost relieved. “Okay. Good. Would you girls like a tour before dinner? Um,” she paused, looking at Tali again and pressing her lips together. “I think there’s a market in town that sells dextro—.”

Tali waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it, Mrs.—er, _Hannah_. I brought my own food.”

Hannah sighed, shoulders sinking slightly. “Are you sure? It wouldn’t be much trouble for me to go.”

Tali just shook her head. “Really, I’m used to it. Besides, it’ll be easier for me to just microwave something than to prepare a whole separate meal, you know?”

Hannah still looked uncomfortable, but nodded anyway. “Alright. If you’re sure.” She smoothed down the front of her shirt, taking a breath and looking back out across the room. “Okay. Ready for the tour?”

Kira pushed off from where she’d been leaning on the counter lazily, reaching out and threading her fingers through her girlfriend’s, squeezing her hand as they started off through the house. Beyond the kitchen and the living room, Hannah took them out onto the deck first and—

“You have a pool _and_ a hot tub?” 

Hannah just laughed as Kira wandered over to the edge of the water, dragging Tali along behind her. The pool was set into the deck, rectangular and pristine, and the jacuzzi rose up a little on the farthest corner to allow whoever was sitting in it to really appreciate the view. Shaking her head, Kira wondered distantly where the hell _her_ nice apartment or mansion or _whatever_ was. First Sun got that sweet apartment on the Citadel (which she had left to Kira, all things considered, but the Citadel hadn’t quite gotten around to rebuilding that part yet) and now this? 

The tour continued back inside, wandering down the hallway as her mother pointed out the powder room, the guest room (with a small, attached bathroom), the master bedroom and the giant bathroom attached to it there. There was a small library at the other end of the hall, where her mother apparently kept up with the Alliance stuff when she wasn’t actively out in space doing things.

“And that’s pretty much everything,” her mother finished as they slowed to a stop in front of the kitchen again. “I’ll start on dinner, if you girls want to go get settled or—something.”

Ah. There was that tone again.

“Think I have time for a shower?” Tali asked quietly, still drifting close to Kira’s side. “It’s been a while since I wore my suit all day, and I feel kind of—well, gross.”

“Sure,” Hannah said as she walked over to the fridge. “Towels are in the linen closet—the door beside the guest room. And Kira, sweetheart, can you ask Thane to come in here please?”

…Yeah, that was gonna take some getting used to.

Messing with her hair uncomfortably, Kira turned and started down the hall with a quiet, “Uh, yeah, I guess.” Tali made a beeline for the guest room, apparently eager to get out of her suit for a little while, while Kira wandered into the master bedroom at the end of the hall, where Thane was—

“Are you okay?”

He turned his head blearily from where he was lying on the bed, taking a shallow, ragged breath, and Kira remembered suddenly just how sick he’d been—and that was _before_ Kai Leng had skewered him and sent him into a coma. With a quiet groan of effort, Thane pushed himself into a sitting position, waving a hand at her when she moved to help. “I’m fine. I just needed to rest for a bit.”

Kira pressed her lips together, still worried, but nodded after a beat, jerking a thumb behind her. “My, uh…mom wanted to see you.”

He swung his feet off the side of the bed with a quiet sigh, rising steadily to his feet and swinging his arms a little like he was trying to loosen his shoulders. “Yes, I told her I would help with dinner.”

There was a brief pause, during which they both seemed to want to say _something_ , before Kira finally sighed and smiled a little, stepping forward to grasp his arm lightly. “It’s good to see you again, Thane.”

He smiled a little, tension seeping from the tight line of his shoulders. “It’s good to see you as well, Shepard. It’s been too long.”

Kira chuckled. “I’ll say. How long have you been seeing my mom?”

He laughed uneasily, reaching up and scratching at one of the frills on his cheek. “Not as long as you think—but neither of us are as young as we once were.”

“So…the living together thing isn’t as fast as it seems…?”

Thane blinked, and if Kira didn’t know any better she’d say he looked startled. “How did you…?”

They both started when there was a quiet knock at the door, and Kira turned to find her girlfriend leaning against the doorframe with a bundle of toiletries in her arms. “I…was just wondering if you brought the, um…the hypoallergenic soap?”

Kira frowned. “Of course. Is it not in the bag?” Tali shifted uncomfortably, and it dawned on Kira what she really wanted. “Never mind. I’ll come help you look.” She turned back to Thane and smiled. “See you at dinner.”

“Of course.”

 

* * *

 

The doors in this house were all old-fashioned doors—ones you had to push open and close behind you, and Kira found it felt really odd as Tali led her back into the guest bedroom.

Kira hadn’t gotten a proper look at it earlier, but now that she stepped fully into the room, she found it reminded her of a hotel room. The walls were painted a light blue, mimicking the sea with waves breaking on the shore here and there. The curtains in front of the window were soft-looking and white—the bed itself covered with a matching fluffy comforter and—

Kira laughed, walking over and running her fingers over the soft Blasto-print throw at the foot of the bed. “I bought this for her in Rio when I was doing N7 training,” she explained just as Tali walked over and dumped her armful of stuff onto the bed. Before Kira could think to make another comment, Tali was already at her side, sliding her arms around her waist and burying her face in her neck as best she could with the suit on.

Carefully, Kira wrapped her arms around her girlfriend, dread settling into the pit of her stomach. “You alright, Jitterbug?”

Tali gave a quiet little huff of a laugh at the nickname. “It’s been a long day.”

Kira took a slow, deep breath as they began to sway on the spot, running her hands up and down her girlfriend’s back. “Yeah. It has.”

Tali’s arms tightened at Kira’s waist as she added, “Your mother still seems upset.”

“Hmm,” Kira hummed, shrugging. “Yeah, but I’m starting to think it might just be the combination of Thane and you being here at the same time.”

“Thane and I were friends!”

Kira laughed. “Yeah, and so were we. I don’t know why she didn’t just _tell_ me—I mean, at least she’s known about you.” Kira paused, eyes a little unfocused as she shook her head. “I think I’m in shock.”

Tali giggled in her arms, and a rush of affection had a smile tugging at her lips again as her girlfriend pulled away to go rifle through the bag on the bed. “How sick do you think I would get if we didn’t disinfect first?” she asked, eyeing the bottles distastefully.

Kira snorted. “You really wanna spend the rest of the weekend sick in bed?”

Tali didn’t answer.

“ _Tali_.”

“…I’m thinking.”

Shaking her head, Kira closed the distance again, wrapping her arms around Tali’s middle and sighing into her shoulder. “ _Babe_. It’s just a few days. She’ll loosen up soon, I swear.” Tali hummed, leaning into her embrace. “Plus, with Thane here also having to go through the _meet the family_ trials, it’s not even like all the focus is on us.”

Tali took a deep, slow breath. “Fine.”

Kira kissed the side of her helmet. “Thank you. I’ll go wipe the shower down, okay? So we don't have to worry about unpacking much right now.”

“Sure,” she mumbled, eyes on the bed instead of Kira, making Kira want to sigh again as she moved to go make sure the bathroom was properly clean.

_This is going to be a long weekend…_

When Kira finally sat back on her haunches, panting a little at the effort she’d put into scrubbing at the linoleum (the tub itself was actually probably big enough for the both of them, she noticed, if they wanted to relax later), she wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but if the way Tali came in and said, “ _Oh_ , you’re finished,” was any indication, it hadn’t been long.

“Used to it by now,” Kira said with a shrug, wincing a little as she rose back to her feet. 

Tali wrung her hands together in a now familiar, nervous gesture. “Sorry. You could've waited for me to finish unpacking the drone.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“I guess, but you shouldn’t have to—.”

“Tali, I love you,” Kira interrupted her, smiling when her eyes widened behind her mask. “If it’s for your health, I don’t mind doing a little extra cleaning. Really.” She leaned in and pressed a kiss to the mask, moving to leave with a quiet, “I’ll see you after your shower.”

“Kira, wait,” Tali said softly, and when Kira turned back she had just enough time to register the quiet _whoosh_ of Tali’s mask being removed before her lips were on hers. Tali kissed her gently, sweetly, hands coming up to cup her cheeks, thumbs stroking at her cheekbones. When she pulled back a moment later, all Kira could see was purple and glowing eyes like stars. “I love you, too.”

She smiled, and Kira smiled back, feeling warm all over as she reached up to touch Tali’s still glove-covered hands on her face. Mischievously, Tali glanced towards the shower and hummed thoughtfully. “Looks big enough for two.”

Kira laughed, shaking her head and taking a step back. “As nice as that sounds, I’m not really in the mood to have the ‘ _nudity isn’t always sexual, Mother_ ’ talk with my mom right now.”

Tali chuckled. “Fair enough.”

“Take your time,” Kira said as she moved to leave for real this time. “I’m sure dinner isn’t ready yet.”

Tali didn’t answer, just threw her one last smile over her shoulder as she set to the painstaking process of removing her suit.

 

* * *

 

Kira could hear Thane and her mother in the kitchen, talking softly between the clink of dishes, before she actually saw them. Thane raised his hand in half a wave when he caught her gaze, and her mother smiled warmly as she turned from the stove. She opened her mouth to say something, but Kira wasn’t really— _feeling_ the talking thing.

“I’m gonna wait outside,” she said before Hannah could say anything. “Been a long time since I was on Earth and all that. Plus, you know, the view and—and stuff.”

_Smooth_.

Kira didn’t wait for them to respond, ducking out the glass doors and out into the cool night air. For a second, she stood and let the wind rake gentle fingers through her hair, closing her eyes and just _breathing_ , but then she processed the sound of…splashing?

When she turned to look, she found Kolyat sitting by the edge of the pool, legs hanging in the water as he slowly kicked them back and forth, eyes set steadily on the horizon and the city down below. She took a second to notice how odd it was to see his calves in any way, shape, or form, before she smiled and took a few steps in his direction.

“Mind if I stick my feet in, too?”

He didn’t really move to give her a yes or no answer, but he did say, “It’s heated.”

_Okay, then._

Taking that as a yes, she wandered over to the deck by his side, slipping her shoes off and rolling her pant legs up as best she could before she sat, sighing at the comfortable warmth of the water on her aching feet. She heard him let out a slow breath, slouching a little more as she moved to lean back on her palms. 

The silence was actually really comfortable, she found after a minute or two. Kolyat was perfectly content to just sit, and it was—nice.

She still had questions, though, and this was as good a time as any.

“So,” she began pleasantly, smirking when he flinched a little, “how long have you known about them?” 

He shrugged. “I dunno. She used to—they used to talk a lot over comm I think. I don’t know for sure, though. I only found out about _this,_ ” he waved his hand to vaguely gesture at the house, “a few days ago.”

Kira winced. “You’ve been here with them by yourself for a few _days_?”

Kolyat didn’t look at her, but she saw the corner of his mouth twitch. “I’m glad you’re here. I don’t know how much more of the awkward dinner conversations I could have taken.”

“You say that like you’re expecting tonight’s dinner won’t be just as uncomfortable.”

He made a funny sound with his throat that Kira realized was laughter. “No, but at least I won’t be the only person suffering this time.”

Kira made a face and nodded her assent, looking back out at the glow of the city lights hazing the night sky. “Good point.”

They fell back into silence, but it still wasn’t uncomfortable silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Kira tilted her head back a little, where the roof of the deck had untinted for the night, glass clear enough to see the entire Milky Way where it stretched across the desert sky, watching the stars for a moment. Distantly, she remembered all the stories she’d read in one of those old paranormal history books she’d found in the back of a box somewhere—UFOs over New Mexico so frequently that they used to have a highway called the UFO highway that went straight through the desert, and the Roswell crash.

It wasn’t unusual to see lights moving strangely anymore, (she was sitting next to an alien right now) but it was still interesting. She wondered what it must have been like before First Contact—how strange odd lights in the sky must have been. She wondered how many of them had actually been mercenaries or scientific scouts. She wondered how long the Council knew about the human race before the turians started that war—or if they’d known at all. She wondered who had actually crashed at Roswell, and made a mental note to look that up some time on the extranet.

They both turned when the glass door to the porch opened, and Kira smiled to see Tali leaning around the edge of the door. “Dinner’s almost ready, if you two want to come inside.” She paused, and added lowly, “Please.”

Kira and Kolyat exchanged a smirk, before climbing out of the pool and heading back inside to brave whatever the hell was about to go down at the dinner table.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next up: boy howdy dysfunctional family dinner


	3. Dinner Disaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Content Warning:** Hannah and Kira have a bit of a rocky relationship at the moment and they argue a little. It's nothing graphic or overly vicious, but I didn't have a fun time writing it and it's something a lot of people have experienced with their parents (myself included). I don't want anyone to be hurt, so just—fair warning that Kira didn't have a happy home life growing up, and Hannah wasn't the bad one, but we all know words can hurt, too.

Kira had never thought the day would come that she actually _missed_ fighting the Reapers, but here she was.

Her mom, as a way of maybe trying to get back on Kira’s good side, had made Korean food for dinner. Which was, you know, great and fine and Kira loved it, but at the same time—at the same time, Tali and Kolyat were both eyeing the spread with curiosity and (in Kolyat’s case) thinly veiled disgust. While she liked Kolyat just fine for the most part (guy was a little dry and quiet for her tastes, but he was nice enough), Kira still took more than a little pleasure in taking a mouthful of the dried squid and eating it while looking him directly in the eye.

Unfortunately, Hannah noticed this little exchange. “ _Kira_ ,” she murmured, and Kira fought the urge to roll your eyes. 

“What?”

“Play nice.”

“I _am_.”

By her side, Tali gave a quiet laugh and sipped at the soup-like concoction in her thermos, nudging Kira’s foot under the table with her own. It was quiet for a few minutes after that—the silence thick and heavy—as they all ate in relative peace. Kira was having fun watching Kolyat try to figure out chopsticks with those fused fingers of his (Thane had apparently already caught on) when Tali cleared her throat and asked, “So, ah, how are things with the Alliance?”

Hannah raised an eyebrow and Kira barely fought back a groan. “Kira doesn’t tell you?”

“I haven’t been working with the Alliance much lately,” Kira answered, poking at a piece of _bulgogi_ with her chopsticks. 

“What _have_ you been doing?” her mother asked pointedly, and Kira felt the oncoming fight in her gut. This was going to be just like the time she left the Alliance for the Normandy—that had been a short fight, but a bad one nonetheless. Her mother had been supportive the first time she wanted to take time off, but a second? _Please_.

“I’ve been on Rannoch lately—helping the quarians and the geth with repairs and rebuilding.” She tilted her head, smiling a little. “Avoiding the Council.”

Tali cut in, trying to help. “Uh, didn’t I hear somewhere that you were asked to join the Council, Ad—Hannah?”

Hannah returned her gaze to Kira’s girlfriend, just as Kira and Thane exchanged subtly pained looks across the table. On her other side, Kolyat gave another quiet huff, sliding lower in his chair and taking a long swig of what she could only assume was alcohol.

With a tight smile, Hannah nodded. “They did, but I’ve been—avoiding that.”

“You don’t want the job?” Tali asked curiously.

Hannah shrugged. “I don’t think I’d make a very good politician. Besides,” she turned and looked at Thane with a sudden softness that made Kira slightly uncomfortable. That wasn’t really a look she thought her mother was capable of making—all doe-eyed and sweet. “I have my reasons for wanting to stay on Earth.”

“I heard they asked you to come back to C-Sec,” Kolyat said quietly, looking over at Kira now. “I didn’t even know you worked for C-Sec.”

Kira hummed. “Yeah, for about a year. Last time I was on the Citadel, Nadia and Eva spent pretty much an entire week trying to convince me, but I dunno. I like having free time.”

“So you’re, what—just going to retire?” Hannah asked, voice a little sharper than it had been.

Kira met her mother’s gaze steadily. “Maybe. They just released the first series of war vids—the royalty checks were _very_ generous.”

“Didn’t the Council also offer you a Spectre position?” Thane asked this time, a little too quickly as he tried to curb the building tension, and Kira shrugged half-heartedly.

“Yeah, but I’ve already got the burden of being _Commander Shepard_ now—I’d like to stay out of Sun’s shadow,” _haha_ , “as much as I can. Taking up a Spectre position on top of her old rank seems a little too much. And I don’t even like the Council that much _anyway_.” Sighing, and taking a long drink of soda, she turned back to her mother and asked, “If _you_ turned down the Council position, and _I_ turned down the Council _and_ Spectre position, who are they looking at for the open seat?”

“I have heard that Admiral Hackett is being considered,” Thane replied amicably, trying his best to break the tension, “as well as Commander Bailey.”

Kira snorted. “Bet he loved that.”

“I think they’re trying to wear your cousin down now,” Hannah said, reaching up to rub tiredly at her face. “I don’t know how much progress they’ve made on that front.”

“Shepard _was_ pretty adamant about the ‘ _retire somewhere tropical and never work again_ ’ thing,” Tali agreed with a nod, setting her drink thing aside and folding her arms on the table. “I don’t think she has any plans to leave Palaven for a while.”

Kira groaned, rolling her neck on her shoulders, still stiff from their flights. “And that’s a perfectly good plan if you ask me.”

Her mother didn’t like that, apparently. “It’s a waste of skill,” she said quietly, and Kira rolled her eyes.

“Here we go,” she breathed, pushing her empty plate away. 

“ _Kira_.”

“ _What_?” Kira snapped. “You’re obviously upset about my decisions.”

Thane, Kolyat, and Tali were all exchanging panicked looks, even as Hannah shook her head and squared her shoulders. Kira mirrored the action, just as much military as she was, resting her chin on her hand. “I just think,” Hannah started calmly, “that you still have so much more to offer, sweetheart. You’re so good at what you do. You could do so much more.”

“I don’t owe the galaxy another damn thing, Mother. I’ve done my part. I think I deserve a break.”

Hannah pressed her lips together and suddenly Kira was 16 again, talking about dropping out of school because she hated it, because she was tired of getting harassed by the resident drunkards. She’d wanted to leave Arcturus—try for a colony, maybe, or see if Grissom would be interested in taking in an older student. Or just another janitor, even. Something—anything—to get out of that damn hell hole of a space station.

The only thing this situation was missing was her father, and his goddamn yelling.

Kira gave a huff, shaking off the memories, pushing her chair away from the table and grabbing her plates. “I’m not doing this tonight.”

Hannah turned in her seat as Kira carried her dishes to the sink, and judging by the sound of another chair scraping against the stone, Tali had followed her. “You’re not doing _what_ tonight?”

“ _This_ , Mom.” Kira was doing a remarkable job of keeping her voice even as she frowned. She turned and leaned on the counter for a moment, meeting her mother’s angry gaze. “I’ll do the dishes in the morning if you want, but right now I’ve got a headache and I’m going to go lie down. Thanks for dinner.”

As Kira made her way towards the hall, she heard her mother call after her, but she didn’t stop. Not tonight. 

Not _tonight_. 

She felt Tali’s fingers grasp at the back of her shirt as she walked, and the knot in her throat tightened as she slowed just enough for her girlfriend to catch up to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and squeezing just as they reached the guest room. Tali’s hand settled comfortably against her hip, like it was made to fit there, and her thumb traced tiny circles into the skin peeking out from under her shirt.

Maybe it was petty, maybe it was childish, but Kira took a tiny bit of pleasure in slamming the door shut behind them when they finally stepped into the room.

Old fashioned doors came in handy sometimes, it seemed.

Tali stepped away then, as Kira wandered over to the farthest side of the bed, eyes blurring with tears now as she threw herself face first into the pillows. Distantly, Kira was aware that she could hear pieces of Tali’s suit coming off, and through her sniffles she turned her head and tried to protest, “I h-haven’t dis’nfected y—yet.”

Tali was in the middle of shrugging out of the top part of her suit as she turned and shushed Kira. “I did after my shower,” she said quietly, working her suit the rest of the way down over her hips, leaving her in just the shorts and tank top she’d started wearing under her suit since the war. She crossed the room and pulled something out of the suitcase on the dresser, trading her tank top for one of the oversized t-shirts Kira kept around and sighing with what sounded like relief.

Or at least, it sounded like relief over Kira’s growing hysterics, hiccuping into the damp pillow, clutching either end of the pillow and squeezing. 

_Stop,_ she thought miserably as the bed shifted with Tali’s weight as her girlfriend settled on the bed next to her. _Stop crying._

Soft, cool fingers brushed her hair off of her neck, gently combing through her hair, loosening out tangles as she went. Kira sniffled into her pillow, ears burning and unwilling to turn her head and show her face, even when she felt her girlfriend slide closer on top of the blankets, smoothing her hand down across her back in gentle, soothing patterns. Slowly, slowly, Kira’s breathing started to even out, the fist around her heart easing with every soft touch, until she finally felt calm enough to turn her head and look at the woman lying next to her.

Tali had apparently forgone turning the light on, her eyes glowing bright in the dark room, tiny freckles of light dusting her cheeks and reflecting a little off the pillow. 

Kira sniffled again and smiled a little. “ _Sorry_ ,” she breathed, voice hoarse and raw.

Tali shook her head a little, reaching up and brushing some of Kira’s hair behind her ear and out of her face, pausing for just a second to trace her thumb across the long, deep scar on her cheek. “Are you okay?”

The laugh Kira gave in return was watery, and she groaned a little as she turned to lie on her side, tangling her legs through her girlfriend’s and reaching for her hand. “I’ll be fine. She just—I forgot…what it was like.”

Tali’s thumb ran across Kira’s knuckles (no longer bruised or calloused from use—a small sign of healing after the Reapers). “What it was like?” she repeated quietly.

It wasn’t anything beyond a quiet prod. A gentle nudge that Kira could easily shrug off, but… “What she was like,” Kira clarified. “My dad was,” _the worst_ , “awful and horrible, and she was _so_ much better, but…”

“…But she still hurt you, too,” Tali breathed when Kira didn’t continue.

She nodded, taking a shaky breath. “Never to the extent he did—never…never laid a hand on me, but there were always _expectations_. She always wanted me to have a better life than she did, but it was so,” she coughed, trying not to start sobbing again even as her eyes welled with tears. Laughing breathlessly, Kira wiped at the tears that escaped and said, “It was like nothing I ever did was good enough.”

“ _Nothing_?” Tali sounded surprised. “You’re a war hero.”

Kira shrugged. “She was proud of me. But I got swept up in the Alliance and the N7 program and it was so _much_ —too much.” She sniffled again. “You know all this. The C-Sec thing and stuff happened, and she was supportive, but _god_ the second time I left the Alliance to go be on the Normandy…”

She shook her head, rubbing at her face. “I don’t even know why I went back to the Alliance in the first place, honestly. I was so happy with C-Sec. Felt like I was living my own life for the first time because I never—never _asked_ for any of the Alliance stuff. I never wanted to be a hero.”

Tali frowned. “If you were so happy with C-Sec, why do you keep turning them down?”

“I said it was the _first_ time I felt like I was living, not the only time, Tali.” Her bitter smile softened, running her gaze across her girlfriend’s face and marveling a little at how beautiful she was. “On the Normandy, I was doing something good and it felt good. When I’m with you?” She reached over and touched her cheek, running her thumb across the twinkling freckles on Tali’s cheek. “When I’m with you, I’m home. I don’t want to rejoin C-Sec because I don’t want to be away from you.”

Tali’s skin warmed under her palm, and she giggled, burying her face in her pillow to hide her grin. “Shut _up_.”

Kira laughed. “Not even gonna call me a _bosh’tet_ this time?”

Tali’s only response was to laugh a little more and kick gently at Kira’s shins. That got them both giggling, leaning into each other as the tension eased and things felt a little more normal. Eventually, Kira heaved a quiet sigh, pressing her forehead to Tali’s.

“I’ll be okay. Just got a little overwhelmed.”

Her girlfriend hummed softly. “I’m sure tomorrow will be better.”

Kira opened her eyes to look at her girlfriend, holding up two fingers and crossing them. “Here’s hoping.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am probably 100% projecting some of my own feelings onto this family at this point but you can Fight Me
> 
> also i split this chapter from the last one because i am literally in my head watching this as like a romcom and it just makes sense to me that there'd be the first prologue-y chapter, a cheesy cut to some smaller scenes to establish characters, and then to the dinner scene sO
> 
> next up: i haven't decided yet but probably some more thane and kolyat and feelings


End file.
